Place Your Bets?
by Dizzy Cat
Summary: Post HBP before the search for the Horcruxes. A few ideas as to what might happen in the seventh installment of the HP series!


Author's note:

How does one tactfully let the rest of the Harry Potter community know about one's assumptions for the seventh installment of the series, without having it fall into a rumors column of some mass website? Easy… craft it into a one-shot fan fiction and wait patiently for feedback.

These are some things I think will happen in the next book. I came up with a few, the others are others' opinions that I happen to agree with. I also couldn't resist the urge to take a few jabs at shippers and other cliché trademarks for fan fiction.

J K Rowling wrote the phrase "…of course…" at least 466 times in her Harry Potter series. Give or take a few, I kept loosing count. Meaning I don't own Harry Potter and I couldn't imagine saying "of course" 100 times let alone nearly 500.

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Place Your Bets

The Burrow had never been so full of guests. Every Weasly and Prewett that was capable of making the journey had. And every Delacour that wasn't too afraid of traveling, was booked into every available room in the small town of Ottery St Catchpole. It was the wedding of the year.

Although you couldn't tell by the fact that there were no invitations sent out to the neighbors, no announcement in the paper and as oddly as it may seem no decorations. There was no caterer; no tables and chairs, there appeared to be any reception either. The only evidence to anything happening at that funny, rundown, lopsided house on the outskirt of town, were the funny, rundown, lopsided people that were making the short walk down the dusty drive to it. At least that was the muggle's perspective.

Once through the muggle wards, that lopsided house magically turned into the perfect setting for the upcoming celebration. The lawn, degnomed by the begrudged children of the house, was a beautiful sight to see. Every fence post had a stream of lilies and daisies flowing from it like a fountain of colors. A garland of lace and ribbon wound around each post to the ground, which was also painted (courtesy of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes—Grass Graffiti) to appear as though it were a field of daisies and lilies.

The house had a fresh coat of paint, new shutters, and a brand new front door. The porch was coated with a shiny tarnish and furnished with a white set of wicker chairs, a bench and a table. Everything of course, decorated with white, blue and yellow. The ribbons that were hanging from the door were in a circle formation like a wreath. With the exception that the colored ribbons were chasing one another in attempts to mate into paler colors, the porch did not give off too much of an impression of the amount of enchantment that lay inside.

However, once inside the Burrow that was a different story. While Fred and George Weasley had moved into their own flat the year before, there were still bangs, booms and crashes throughout the house to make you think the troublemakers still inhabited the oversized pigpen. Of course these were the sounds of the many trunks banging magically into doors, walls, stairs and then dropping to the floor. It was also the sound of tired bodies flinging themselves mercilessly onto their beds.

Professor McGonagall had graciously offered to transfigure the bedrooms of the house to become 3 times their regular size. She also transfigured the broom closet inside the house into an additional bathroom. The old outhouse in the backyard- also a broom closet, but of a different nature- was transfigured into a three bedroom guest house, with all the furnishings. William Weasley had been boasting for the majority of the week that he had always thought Minerva McGonagall was one of his favorite teachers at Hogwarts.

The backyard had been elaborately decorated for the occasion. Chairs in pale blue and yellow were facing an altar—of course—with lilies and daisies. The altar had been enchanted to constantly rain flower petals and there was a small fountain behind which spewed multicolored fountains of bubbly yellow and blue. The aisle between the chairs was laid with a cloth that looked like silk but had the consistency of a cloud. It was a beautiful wedding layout.

As for the house guests, there were 2 cousins of Molly's by marriage, Aunt Muriel Prewett, Great-Uncle Felius Weasley and Calvin Weasley (whom somehow had managed to get himself disowned from his father. Something involving a banshee and an enchanted pumpkin patch.) As for friends of the family, there were 2 coworkers of Bills and Fleur's, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Hagrid (he had the especially large bedroom in the newly created guest house) and after some pleading on Molly's part, Professor McGonagall agreed to spend the weekend there as well.

Fleur's immediate family and other relatives were holed up in the small inn in the village. They stayed in the village for the most part, with the exception of those participating in the wedding. They came to the house this evening for rehearsal.

On paper--that Fleur had planned months before--the rehearsal was a simple affair. Charlie Weasley would escort his sister Ginny and Ron Weasley would escort Gabrielle Delacour, the two bridesmaids. Fleur's father, Jean Luc, was escorting his daughter down the aisle, while one of the twins would be offering their arm to Fleur's mother Renee. Molly would walk down the aisle with her husband Arthur and Harry Potter would escort Hermione Granger. Of course, the procession would not be in that order. It was rehearsal, what could go wrong?

"Where is my bouquet?" Ginny cried over the noise of the congregation.

"Where's Gabrielle?"

"Who am I supposed to walk with again?"

"This is a dress rehearsal. You cannot where your trainers Ronald Bilius Weasley!"

"Now, Molly…"

"Should have brought a few skiving snackboxes," one of the twins muttered under their breath.

"Eez eet time yet?" Gabrielle inquired.

"Now dear you don't need to start crying again."

"But zee flowers are so beautiful," followed by a polite blowing into a handkerchief.

"Harry?" Hermione inquired bursting Harry's solitary thoughts as he sat at the edge of the commotion. He had of course been dwelling about what was going to happen after tomorrow's celebration. He smiled faintly at Hermione.

"I'm fine." He said, a little too forced.

"Oh? You should stop twisting your program like that. You might want to read that tomorrow." She said with a smirk. He looked down and smiled.

"I was just thinking… you know."

She sighed as she took the seat next to him.

"You shouldn't worry so much. At least not until after the wedding. It's not healthy. This is supposed to be a break from—well from everything." She finished with a wave of her hands. "You can't do anything until after tomorrow anyways. You promised Ginny remember. She would most likely hex you if she found out you left before it was all finished."

"I wasn't planning on leaving before tomorrow night. But…" He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Godric's Hollow. I've only known the name of that place for a few years, and yet there is no other place that I've wanted to go my entire life."

"To see your parent's graves? They are buried there right?" She inquired giving him her full attention. This was hard to do seeing as how Molly was in the process of beating one of her twins over the head with a bouquet they'd somehow managed to turn into a rubber chicken.

"They are buried in the town near there, yes. I asked Remus within the first days after I came back to the burrow this summer." He said resuming his stranglehold on his program. "He told me where the graveyard is and where to find their graves. He's only been there once or twice. I think… when I do go… I'll want to..." He didn't finish. Ron had come up to him before he finished talking and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Right, mate. You go by yourself, but Hermione and I will wait for you at the gates. You take as long as you need." Hermione smiled warmly at Ron, but turned away before the blush that was creeping to her cheeks could be remarked upon.

Harry smiled at that.

"I don't think I'll be able to get any amount of privacy with you two around will I?" He asked as Ron removed his arm from his shoulders. "Unless of course I get involved with Ginny again. Then I'll at least be guaranteed you won't be around me all the time, Ron."

The red-head paled at that.

"That's for sure."

"So Monday morning, it's straight for Godric's Hollow?" Hermione asked, her complexion returned to normal.

"Well, I promised to stay until after the reception. I was hoping to leave tomorrow night."

"You want to go to a graveyard at night?" Ron asked thinking of course of the report of inferi.

Harry had other thoughts running through his mind. Like the last time he had been in a graveyard at night… flashes of green… a man in a cauldron. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts.

"I just don't know how much longer I'll be able to wait."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other knowing that their adventure would start soon.

"I was also planning on stopping by Hogwarts before the school reopens in the fall."

"Now that the governor's have consented of course," Hermione snorted at that.

"Mum's not sending Ginny. Without Professor Dumbledore and you there Harry, well… even without those articles in the Prophet, confidence is at an all-time low," Ron said thinking that there were only a few teachers there that he would trust with protecting his sister.

Harry nodded. He swelled inwardly at Molly's compliment though. It was a universal feeling of most of the wizarding community that Dumbledore was the only one Lord Voldemort—He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who—ever feared. Without him there, offering his protection, parents were scared. And once they found out Harry Potter wasn't attending either, that was what sealed the deal for most families. With the addition of someone that had gone up against Voldemort four times and survived, not attending, they just weren't taking the chance.

But like the opinions of a handful of teachers at Hogwarts, the governors decided that even if only one student went back, that student was worth keeping the school open to teach. They were still having problems replacing the teachers that had vacated their posts at the end of the school year, though. Defense against the Dark Arts and Potions, needed filling as well as Muggle Studies.

"But, why are you going back?" Hermione asked avoiding another of the twins as he dove behind her hiding from the wrath of his mother.

"I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore." Harry stated simply. Ron looked at him wide-eyed and George's mouth fell open.

"Sorry, Harry. We're all stressed, but Dumbledore's gone," George said with sympathy.

"I know. I was in his office, I mean the head master's office after it all happened," he paused at the memory of this as well. "And they've already put his portrait up. He was sleeping when I was there though. I would like to talk to him about a few things."

"Oh. Like?" Ginny asked as she came to sit down with the group at the back of the wedding chairs.

"Well Snape for starters." He gritted his teeth as he said the name an angry gleam coming across his rigid features.

"I know you don't want to hear this right now, but..." Hermione started, but Ron cut her off.

"Not that cock-n-bull story again Hermione." exasperation dripping from his voice.

"It's not entirely impossible. Dumbledore and Snape could have arranged for him to do it. And no Harry for the last time I am not excusing what Snape did. We just all know that we wouldn't have expected Dumbledore to have d-died so simply. And yes we believe your account of everything that happened and Dumbledore is definitely dead. Just seems like such an easy way for the greatest wizard of our time to go," she had vouched this opinion a numerous amount of times since Harry had arrived at the burrow from his aunt's and uncle's house.

"But why would Dumbledore want to die? He would never want to leave everyone so desperate and hopeless and..." Ginny wouldn't finish her sentence as her Mother had just joined the group. Molly cried enough nowadays as it was.

"Well Dumbledore knew how important Snape was to the whole process. Without the information he passed from the Death Eaters, we never would have known about their quest for the prophecy. It's very likely that Snape was under an Unbreakable Vow with Dumbledore that he was to stay the course no matter what. He would have to kill him if Dumbledore asked."

"No he wouldn't." Harry muttered. "He could have died for him. Like any of us would have done."

"Oh, Harry!" Molly cried tears brimming in her eyes. She tried to hug him, but was restrained from behind by Arthur.

"That's not what Dumbledore would have wanted. You told us yourself that he said you were more important to the liberation from the Dark Lord then he was. You alone are worth the lives of any and all members of the Order." Arthur said quietly.

"And the DA." Ginny added.

"Without you, genocide of muggles everywhere would commence."

"Fine. Fine. But I still want to talk to him. About the Horcruxes at least." He had confided in the Weasley's of his mission within the first night of arriving at the burrow. They had been a solemn bunch since that night as he had also informed them of the contents of the prophecy.

"I thought you knew what the remaining Horcruxes were?" Fred asked. He had joined the group a few minutes before as had Charlie.

"Well we thought we did. I need to ask him if he thinks we should continue looking for the locket or assume it's been destroyed. Its one hell of an assumption to make though…" Harry confided. After finding out the locket had been a fake, he had still carried it around on his person. The sacrifices involved in trying to destroy Lord Voldemort, he felt were embodied in this trinket.

"That would be a decision he would want you to make. He knew what he was asking you to get yourself into. If he didn't think you could handle it and everything it entailed he wouldn't have asked you to join him," Arthur said matter-of-factly.

"Dumbledore trusted you, Harry. What do you feel about the locket?" Molly asked as Arthur put a hand on her shoulder lovingly.

"If I had any idea of who R.A.B. was, it would be another story." Hermione made to cut Harry off but put up his hand. "I know, Hermione. But that is another thing I want to ask Dumbledore."

"What? Hermione did you figure something out about the locket?" Ginny asked surprised. Hermione gave a small blush as everyone's attention was now on her. Ron gave her a soothing pat on the hand, causing her to blush even more.

"Well the paper in the locket said that R.A.B had found out Voldemort's secret about the Horcruxes and intended to destroy it. They also knew that they were going to die soon. One would have to assume that they were going to be killed by Lord Voldemort because of this knowledge." She informed them of her hypothesis before continuing. "I looked in the library at Hogwarts every day before term ended trying to find any clue of whom R.A.B is. I looked in "_Study in Recent Developments of Wizardry",_ "_Who's Who of the Wizarding World_", and "_Modern Magical History_".

"I felt like an idiot when I realized that Rosalind Antigone Bungs, Rupert "Axebanger" Brook Stanton and Roger Archibald Bobbins, could have never done anything special enough to draw the attention of the Dark Lord. So I continued my search of my own private library at home. If you remember when we first met on the Hogwarts Express I had recently read "_The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_", which is how had I known all about you already, Harry."

"How do you remember all this stuff?" Ron asked but was shushed by his mother.

"I gave the book another look and stumbled across a name we have heard a little about in the last two years. Regulus Black, Sirius' brother and a known death eater, suspectedly murdered on Lord Voldemort's orders or by him personally. You have to ask yourself, was he really murdered because he was deserting the death eaters, or because he found out something he wasn't supposed to know?" She finished. Everyone sat around for a moment pondering this. It was Charlie who broke the silence.

"What was his middle name?"

"It didn't say, and I never remember Sirius mentioning it. Although he did mention he had an uncle Alphard who left him a large amount of money, consequently getting himself disowned because of this. His brother could have been Regulus Alphard Black."

"Again, how do you remember all this stuff?" Ron asked admiration and bewilderment etched on his bespeckled face.

Hermione shrugged.

"I will ask Dumbledore about this as well. Maybe even Head Master Phineas's portrait too."

"Ohhh! You could ask Kreacher!" Ginny suggested. Harry's face lit up at the thought. It was perfect! Kreacher knew everything there was to know about the Black family. He was about to call for his inherited house-elf but an angry voice stopped him.

"You will not call zat foul beast eer!" Fleur seethed. "Zees eez my wedding!" She said finally noticing that no one was bothering with her dress rehearsal any longer.

"That's right Harry. You can wait until you go to Hogwarts to speak with him. This is a time of celebration." Arthur said with a smile. "I know you want to start as soon as you can, but you will be thankful for these happy moments when your journey does eventually begin."

Harry nodded, but adrenaline still ran through his body. He caught Ginny's eyes, and besides wondering how she can be more beautiful today than she was yesterday, he wondered if he would get an opportunity to thank her properly before he set off. His goodbye to her would be the most challenging of all.

"Well speaking of weddings, Fred! George!" Molly rounded on her twins. They looked shocked.

"Listen, Mum. We told you that we just started dating—"

"Ya, nothing serious—"

"—too soon to start thinking about weddings!" They said together offended.

"Oh." Molly looked put-off but shook those admissions away. "I was just wondering what you were wearing to tomorrows ceremony."

Everyone turned to the twins expectantly. This was a new development.

"Girlfriends? You both have girlfriends?" Charlie asked surprised.

"Oh well—you see…" Fred began.

"Is it Verity?" Hermione asked with a knowing smile.

"How did you know?" George asked even more surprised than Charlie.

"Well when we were there last fall, it was obvious you didn't hire her for her stocking and sorting abilities. The shelves were practically empty!"

George smiled.

"Well it wasn't until after I fired her that I asked her out."

Ginny gaped at her brother's gall.

"You fired her and then expected her to be your girlfriend?"

"It worked didn't it." He replied looking rather smug.

"And who did you con into dating you?" Ron asked Fred who looked just as smug.

"Angelina Johnson."

Harry sputtered.

"Angelina? As in Gryffindor Quidditch team Angelina Johnson?"

"Yup. Ran into her down Diagon Alley one day last month. She stopped by the shop and accidentally was sprayed in the face with our new WonderWitch product: Enamoured Eau de Toilet."

"Ya, you're the one that sprayed her." George added with a laugh.

"Beside the point. Once the effects subsided, she was still throwing herself at me. Love at first spray I say."

"I would really like to know what you are wearing tomorrow." Their mother reminded them with a huff trying to change the subject from her son's escapades.

"Dragonskins again?" Ron inquired.

"Dragonskins?! Always dragonskins. You know there are other materials in the wizarding world besides dragonskin!" Ginny said with a huff. She swore every time a formal occasion aroused she was seeing her brothers in dragonskins. "I mean use some imagination! Hippogriff fur, Thestral hide—"

"Great idea Ginny!" George piped up.

"Ya! Thestral Hide! Then anyone who hasn't seen some one snuff it can see our wee little—"

"FRED!" Molly shouted as her son ducked another well placed swing of the rubber chicken bouquet.

"Actually dress robes have become back in style again."

"Now that their training the dragons to seek out death eaters and their skins are becoming priceless on the market, you mean?" Charlie quipped with a smile.

"Right you are." Fred said standing still long enough to get boxed over his ear by the swinging chicken.

"I thought we were talking about Horcruxes?" Bill offered to change the subject once more.

"Right." Harry said. "So I also need to ask Dumbledore about the location of the suspected Hufflepuff Horcrux. I never asked him for all the details."

"Will his portrait know?" Ginny asked curiously. "I mean how are portraits made anyways?"

"They're made by a powerful enchantment involving the deceased's penseive or other magical memory container. I read about it in "_Wizarding Ways and Wanderings_" in our fourth year when trying to find out how to breathe underwater, for you Harry."

"So if Dumbledore didn't pour his memories of the Horcruxes into his penseive, he won't remember any of the details," Harry said a worried tone in his voice.

"Yes, but he would still have all his others memories. Including memories that involve his process of selection and elimination. Essentially he'll be able to problem solve and guess from the knowledge he does have to get at the projected answer," Hermione explained.

"What?" Ron asked dumbfounded.

"If he doesn't have memories of the Horcruxes locations, he still can think about where they probably are and probably aren't." Arthur offered. To which Ron replied with an inaudible "Oh."

"I wonder what got Dumbledore to thinking the Dark Lord had created Horcruxes in the first place. Did any of the memories he showed you explicitly mention Horcruxes, with the exception of Professor Slughorn's?" Charlie asked pondering.

"No. I never asked him how he initially assumed he had made Horcruxes." Harry offered thinking back on his few talks he had had with Dumbledore throughout last school year.

"Maybe… maybe Dumbledore created a Horcrux himself!" Ron shouted out. Everyone looked surprised at this possibly. "No, no. It makes sense. He knew all about them and what they are, even though it's incredibly dark magic and you can't read about it in any book. He also knew that Lord Voldemort would probably have made his pet snake a Horcrux. Do you know of any above intelligence animals at Hogwarts that could be used as a Horcrux for Dumbledore?" Hermione gasped.

"Fawkes!!!" She looked around wildly. "A phoenix is nearly immortal! You told us yourself Harry, at the Ministry of Magic, Fawkes swallowed the killing curse, died and came back to life. If Dumbledore were to make Fawkes his Horcrux, he would be immortal. Or nearly."

"But, Dumbledore would have to kill some one in order to make a Horcrux…" Molly whispered.

"Dumbledore doesn't delve into Dark magic." Lupin said profoundly joining the group with Professor McGonagall.

"You do his memory injustice by suggesting he would think about murdering anyone," McGonagall added sadly.

"He would have killed Voldemort, if it would make it to where I wouldn't have to." Harry said matter-of-factly. It was the truth, and the truth was worth saying now.

"I would have to imagine that Professor Dumbledore initially assumed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had at least one Horcrux when he attempted to kill you when you were a baby, Harry." Lupin suggested.

"Yes an' when tha happened, I was there and I took yeh from yer parents' house mehself. At least what was left of it. There was no sign of his body." Hagrid offered joining them and taking up two chairs alone. Harry now realized that most of the congregation had joined them. The other house guests had retreated inside to enjoy Molly's food without the Weasley boys eating the majority of it all.

"So if you have a Horcrux, or Horcruxes, to ensure your soul carries on, your body disappears…?" Harry attempted to put it all together.

"You'd have to assume as much. After he marked you his equal Voldemort then had to posses Professor Quirrell because his body had vanished," Lupin added.

"An' with Dumbledore, it was yeh that saw his body fall from the tower, Harry. An' we all saw him being entombed…" Hagrid added quietly.

"I don't think Professor Dumbledore would have created a Horcrux, Harry. I'm sure that he knew how, but he wasn't the kind of person to crave immortality."

"But all that work he did with Nicholas Flamel and alchemy. The Sorcerer's Stone, what is a better example of some one interested in immortality than that stone's creation?" Ron argued. Amazing how long ago their first year seemed and their researching of the Sorcerer's Stone.

"We never read that he helped create the Stone. It only ever said he worked with Flamel in alchemy." Hermione said. Ron went red in the face at his assumption.

"Just another thing to add to my list of things to ask Dumbledore this summer," Harry said with a sigh. "This reminds me Professor McGonagall. Would you mind if I used your office to speak with Professor Dumbledore's portrait?"

"I haven't been able to rouse him from his sleep since the house-elves added his portrait, but when he does awaken, I'll let you know by owl. I'll encode the message, so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands." She offered with a tight smile.

"Imagine if the dark lord knew about Dumbledore's portrait! He would show up at Hogwarts to personally destroy it I'd assume." George said solemnly.

"He already knows that the headmasters and mistresses of the past are hanging in his office." Harry informed them. "He has been in that office before on at least two occasions that I have seen in the diary and in Dumbledore's penseive."

"Well I'm betting that he doesn't know that Dumbledore's portrait is up so soon."

"Haven't you two had enough with betting?" Arthur reproached them. "Wasn't your experience with Ludo Bagman enough of a lesson?"

"Now father, you know we would never place a bet idly." George stated.

"And besides we have a bet going with Charlie here already that is more worth while." Fred said absently.

"Oh?" Molly said looking at Charlie.

"You know. When are Ron and Hermione going to stop pretending they aren't interested in each other and begin snogging." He said with a smile. The two in question let their mouths drop open in surprise but everyone else shared knowing smiles.

"I'll have you know…" Hermione began.

"Wha-what.. I .. She... what?" Ron sputtered.

"There's time for that later. We already have one wedding to think about," Bill said with the wave of a hand.

Ron's face paled even more at that thought.

"Eldred Worple!" Hermione yelled out. The smiles disappeared from everyone's faces at this outburst.

"Who?" Harry asked dumbfounded.

"Ummm.. We met him at Slughorn's Christmas party last year. Have you contacted him about your biography?" She said lamely, obviously desperate for any change in subject.

"Err, no."

"You want even more publicity?" George asked in awe.

"Lockhart could have learned loads from you." Fred said with a snigger.

"Well I was thinking if I don't make it, you know, I want something to be left behind so people know the truth. The whole truth." Harry offered.

"Like your article in the quibbler?" Asked Tonks who had joined them now.

"Ya. I want to leave a lasting mark on the world." He offered.

"Harry! You make it sound like you've given up!" Molly cried, retaining very little of her motherly dignity.

"No, not given up. One of us has to kill the other if the other is to survive. You have to make sure to offer yourself some amount of insurance."

"But if you plan on writing a biography, that means you must have some inclination that you will lose," Charlie said weakly.

"And if that's the case, then h-he will win," Ron offered.

"That's not it at all," Harry said in his own defense. "The prophecy said, "_and either must die at the hand of the other…for neither can live while the other survives_". I am just going to live my life to its end and hope for the best result to happen."

"You aren't going to be noble are you Harry?" Fred said.

"You're not thinking of… offing it?" George supplied.

"George! Fred! How can you say that?" Molly asked in surprise.

"Well I mean, it would fulfill the prophecy. Harry would kill himself because of the Dark Lord, basically at the hand of him. And if he dies because of the Dark Lord then he cannot survive if Harry dies." Fred offered. A very weak explanation at best was interpreted in a multitude by the audience.

"That doesn't make any sense. The prophecy said at the hand of the other, not because of."

"If he were to kill himself, then there would be no one to finish off Voldemort."

"Harry has the power of love, he can vanquish the evil in Lord Voldemort," Lupin offered with a note of pride in his voice.

"It would explain a few of the subtleties…"

"Enough!" Harry called out. The crowd immediately became silent. "I am not, nor was I before, considering "offing it". Hermione is right. If Voldemort is to die, I have to be the one to kill him. Plain and simple."

There was a moment of silence after that reminder. No one there would ever forget what the prophecy said; it had left such a lasting impression on their conscious.

Lupin coughed.

"So me and Nymphadora—"she scowled at the name "—are going to have a baby."

Everyone looked wildly at the couple. There was a moment of silence before an eruption of applause and congratulations. After a few rounds of back patting and crying on the women's and Hagrid's part, they returned to their seats.

"Wow!" Ginny breathed. "How far along are you?"

"Only 3 months. I found out the same morning that Dumbledore died. I thought it was the best day of my life…" She finished with her eyes downcast.

"And it will be, but only until the day your first child is born," Molly said soothingly rubbing her back.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Hermione inquired curiously glad the attention was far away from her and Ron.

"Well we won't know for a few more months. We'll find out at that time if it has any… um… complications," Lupin said lamely. Ron looked at them with confusion.

"Complications?"

"Well I am a werewolf, Ron."

"Oh… there could be complications?"

"Well not necessarily. Plenty of werewolves have had "normal" offspring. But with the added bonus of me being a metamorphmagus, things could become rather complicated."

"Heh. You could have metamorphinwolf babies." Fred said with a laugh.

"Ha. Sounds like a muggle TV program," Harry added thinking of the horrible programs Dudley used to watch.

"Well regardless, it is not a laughing matter. Complications are still complications. But I know for sure your children will be beautiful and healthy," said Molly as she continued to stroke Tonks's back.

"Chosen any names yet?"

"Oh, well you know we've not had a lot of time to think about it—" Lupin began.

"If it's a boy Sirius Jerard—Remus's middle name—and if it's a girl Persia Marie. In honor of…" she didn't finish. This was the conversation everyone had been avoiding all week. Molly sniffed but remained composed.

"We would be honored if you would name your daughter after our son." The two women embraced.

It was hardly 2 weeks after Dumbledore's funeral that Aurors had located a Death Eater stronghold in the North. The minister of magic personally wanted to oversee the arrests. But it all went awry and they realized too late that it was an ambush. Percy had been caught in the crossfire, reportedly taking on 3 death eaters at once. He would have had time to Disapparate, but he was concerned for the safety of the minister. The few seconds he sacrificed for him, ended up being the last few seconds of his life.

And even after all that, the minister did not come to Percy's funeral. Instead, he chose to send an owl with his condolences. The Weasley family had been devastated when they received the news. When Molly and Ginny went to collect his belongings from his flat, they found Bill's wedding invitation framed on the wall. There were articles and pictures of their break-in at the ministry, family photos, mementos and other family symbolics along the wall. There was no sign of his prefect or head-boy badge, which were thought to be his most prized possessions.

It would have appeared that Percy did not really have such a high disregard for his family. In his private life at least. Molly had gone home and put up all of these photos in the living room. It was a shrine to Percy's memory and a lesson to resolve your differences, regardless of what they may be.

Arthur was still convinced that he drove his son away, consequently resulting in his death. Fred and George blamed themselves for always accusing Percy of being weak and simpleminded, obviously he felt he had something to prove that night. Ron felt sick whenever he thought about it. He hadn't even acknowledged Percy's present at Dumbledore's funeral, a time that demanded at the very least civility amongst all patrons. Ginny never let anyone know how she felt. She always had to appear so strong for her mother.

Molly had taken the news very hard. She wept for days and then afterwards could be heard sobbing in Percy's old bedroom. If it weren't for the wedding, she wouldn't be putting up nearly as much of a show at being "Ok".

"Percy would have wanted that," Fred said.

"Ya. He would want to see if maybe she would listen to his report on cauldron thickness."

"It would be a good bedtime story."

Everyone smiled, a few faces streaming with tears.

"This only reinforces what I have to do…" Harry said quietly. The mood, if possible, became even more sober.

"You won't have to do it alone," Ron added clapping Harry on the back.

"I will have to kill him. Malfoy couldn't kill Dumbledore, and he was being threatened with the death of his family. What if… What if I can't do it either?"

No one could come up with an answer to that question.

"Its not just your responsibility," Arthur said.

"That's right. The Order will help you along the way."

"And the DA!" Ginny chirped.

"And your friends…"

"And family," Molly said with a small smile, tears still on her face.

"When the time comes, you'll know what to do."

"You've always known what to do. You just have that knack for… Well for surviving," Tonks said with a smile.

"Don't forget the whole wizarding world is depending on you," Fred said.

"But, no pressure, Harry," George said with a laugh. The mood was slowly becoming lighter.

"If I didn't have the love of my friends and of my family, I would never have been able to do any of the things I've done before. I never realized what Dumbledore was saying until now," the tattered remains of his program fell to the floor as he looked at his hands. "Voldemort operates by means of fear. He manipulates people to do his bidding by fear. He brings out the worst qualities in people and magnifies them. But always there is fear.

"It was for love of Hogwarts that I plunged after the Sorcerer's Stone. My love for my best friend's family that I went after their only daughter in the Chamber of Secrets. My love for my newly recognized godfather that sent me back in time to save his life from the dementors. The love of my friends and the loved ones of another that kept me underwater in the second Triwizard Cup event. The same love of friends which forced me to duel with Lord Voldemort. The love of Sirius that sent me to the Department of Mysteries and the love for the entire wizarding world which has me chasing the Horcruxes now.

"But even this love cannot compare with what each of you has given me. You give me the power to do all these things. You give me strength. And cause for courage. I don't have a saving people complex. I am incredibly weak when it comes to my greatest strength: Your Love."

"Oh Harry." Ginny cried as she threw herself into his arms. He tried his best to comfort her. It was not a usual sight for the youngest Weasley to offer herself so vulnerably in front of a group of people like this, but she didn't care. Here she was sitting at the back of her brother's wedding rehearsal, in the arms of the man she loved. Yes, man. For Harry had been a man since he battled Lord Voldemort the first time at Hogwarts. And it was this man she wanted to marry and spend the rest of her life with. It was just a matter of helping him survive the next and final battle that stood in the way of her happiness.

It was then that she realized she would go to the ends of the earth for him. And that's exactly where their journey was taking them, whether Harry liked it or not.

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AN: Well _dar she blow_s. I'm sure Harry wouldn't ever irresponsibly have this conversation with all these people, but it was interesting enough. Feedback is appreciated! First fan fiction, so lemme know what to improve on.


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